


Blood Drive

by the-deathboy-ghostking (bookiewookiee)



Series: Will/Nico College AU 1 [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, M/M, solangelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-24
Updated: 2015-01-24
Packaged: 2018-03-08 19:57:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3221474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookiewookiee/pseuds/the-deathboy-ghostking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nico tries working up the courage to hang out with Will. He ends up donating blood instead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood Drive

**Author's Note:**

> Companion piece to Laundry and Mythomagic. Some people messaged me on tumblr and commented on L&M for a sequel or continuation. Well, what the people want. /shrugs

Nico sat in his bed, back pressed against the concrete wall with his tablet facing him.

"You’re in college now," Bianca whined into the camera. "Now is the perfect time to start fresh and make new friends."

It’s not that Nico didn’t like people. He just didn’t trust people anymore. A life time of being let down, promises broken, and being forgotten gave him a hard exterior. To survive, he had to be tough. He loved his family, but outside of them he just felt like there was no point in getting close to people. Nico pouted at the split screen, staring at his two sisters. This was the only way the siblings could talk. Bianca was studying abroad in Italy, Hazel was a freshman at California Art Institute and Nico went to a smaller college in New York. Weekends were really the only time they could all chat due to three different time zones. It was noon for Hazel, almost three in the afternoon for Nico and Bianca was getting ready to out with friends as it was nearing nine for her.

His half-sister, Hazel was a lot more understanding than Bianca. “It’s okay, Nico. Bianca just doesn’t remember high school the way we do. She graduated two years before you.”

Bianca readjusted her screen, obviously using it as a mirror as she put in earrings. “Oh, boohoo so the guy you liked wasn’t gay and had a girlfriend. That’s no reason to give up in college. You were like fourteen. You’re almost twenty now. And this Will guy sounds cute.”

Nico groaned and Hazel giggled. “Look, I have to go.” Bianca said. “Paolo is waiting for me. Ciao.”

Her call ended and the screen shifted so Hazel’s half took over. “Paolo,” Nico mocked Bianca’s voice. “Ciao. Remember when she was so anti-boy and joined a girls club that was completely against boys and would throw teddy bears at me if I walked in on their meetings. And Paolo, can you get any more of a stereotypical Italian name.”

"Says the boy whose name is Nico…" Hazel whispered into the camera. "This Will guy does seem nice. Come on, have you made any friends at all? I’m not saying you have to approach him with any affections, but he seems like someone you could be friends with. We just worry for you, Nico. He invited you to his room to hang out, would it really hurt to stop by and say hello?"

Nico glared at her as he contemplated her words. A knock came from Hazel’s side. She held up a finger as to say one moment to Nico and answered her door. Nico could just make out the shy hellos of Frank, Hazel’s boyfriend. She returned to her computer, Frank stood of to the side. He nervously waved to Nico and Nico smiled in return. He liked Frank. He was a sweet guy to his sister and was also into Mythomagic. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’re going to be late to the movie, Hazel.”

"I know,” she replied. She sent an apologetic smile Nico’s way. "I’ll talk to you later, okay?"

Nico nodded and the video stopped and he set his tablet down. His sisters had a point, but he wasn’t interested in a relationship. Or friends. He applied for a single dorm for a reason. He left his door closed while his neighbors left theirs open for a reason. Nico groaned and leaned back on his bed. It was the late afternoon on a Saturday. Usually, he would be working on homework and projects, but he got so ahead in his classwork that he didn’t have much else to do. He jumped down from his bed, shuffling across the floor to open his door. He peeked out, realizing it was empty because college students usually have better things to do on Saturdays than stay in their dorm. He looked across the hall and saw the door with peeling stickers 5-0-7. It reminded him that Will had said his room was 707. Two floors above his. Another groan rose in his throat. Hazel’s words swirled in his head. Will had offered to hang out. Will was the one to make the move and reach and give Nico a chance to contact him. Nico held the power here.

He closed his door and leaned against it for a few moments. A battle raged on in his head. The struggle was close to giving him a panic attack. He crouched, placing his elbows on his knees and took in a deep breath. He could do this. He did fine in the laundry room. He got to play Mythomagic with another human being in the flesh and he enjoyed it. Will was probably not even there, like the rest of the dorm. Nico convinced himself as he grabbed his messenger bag and keys. With each step up the flight of stairs, Nico could feel his heart beating faster. Sixth floor. He took a breath and began the next flight. He breathed again and walked down the hall. Nico stopped at 707 and observed the door. A Red Cross sticker was placed below the peephole and a whiteboard rested beneath the sticker. In a quick, messy scrawl, Nico assumed Will was practicing his doctor’s indecipherable writing, was ‘My hematologist said my outlook is good since I’m a B Positive type’. Nico snorted at the terrible pun. Underneath the joke was a curved arrow pointing to a flyer fastened to the whiteboard with a small silver magnet. ‘If you’re looking for me, I’m here!’ It was for a blood drive in the student center.

Well, there went Nico’s idea. He shifted his bag uneasily on his shoulder. The blood drive would almost be over by the time Nico made his way across the quad to the student center. Nico considered meeting Will in the student center, asking if he’d want to hang out when it was done. He began his trek back down the stairs and out of the dorms. A handful of students were making their way out of the door as Nico was trying to get into the student center. Most were carrying cups and cookies, holding their bright bandaged arms bent up, keeping pressure on the donation site. When he finally made his way in, he saw the lounge furniture had been pushed up against the walls and medical cots had taken their place in the middle. A kind, but tired looking older woman sat at a table with clipboards and paper forms, a Red Cross badge had her face and the name Sheryl printed on it.

"Hello, did you want to donate blood today?" She offered a clipboard in Nico’s direction. "It won’t take more than thirty minutes."

"Oh, no. It looks like you’re closing up shop. I don’t want to make anyone stay later than need be." Nico answered, noticing only three people were left on their cots, and a few others were waiting at the refreshments table.

Sheryl smiled at him. “You’re so sweet, but really, every donation counts and we’re always happy to wait for someone willing to help. Your donation can help up to three people. We have several med students volunteering with us today.”

Nico took the clipboard from her and quickly filled the form and showed his student ID and state issued ID. He passed back the form as she quickly reviewed it.

"Alrighty, Nico. If you just make your way to an empty cot, someone will be with you shortly to give you a quick physical before we can start your process."

Nico walked over to a cot that wasn’t close to the other students and sat at the edge. He saw Will attending the other students, checking on their progress or removing an IV and wrapping their arm. He walked over to the woman at the table, she handed him a piece of paper and pointed in Nico’s direction. A smile formed on Will’s face as he approached Nico. He was wearing red scrubs, a stethoscope around his neck and a name tag that read ‘Hello, my name is: ‘Will, Red Cross certified student volunteer’. Nico could not help but notice that red looked really good on him. Nico scolded himself and greeted Will with a hello when he got close enough.

"Hey," Will replied. "Okay, so I’ve just gotta check your blood pressure and temperature, and do a quick hemoglobin check alright?"

Without waiting for a reply, applied his first two fingers to Nico’s wrist and looked at his watch. His lips moved in silent counting. He stopped counting and looked up, catching Nico with his gaze. “Are you nervous about donating? Your pulse is racing.”

"I’m fine." Nico’s reply came out a little shaky. He was only nervous about the kind of cute blond checking his pulse and seemed to be intimately close.

Will removed his fingers. “I can’t let you donate if your pulse is high; it messes up your blood pressure. I’ll give you a moment to calm down. Just take some deep breaths, I’ll be right back.”

He clapped a reassuring hand on Nico’s shoulder and made his rounds with the other students. Sheryl left her table and approached Nico as she readied her stethoscope. She warmed it in the palm of her hand, pressing it into the inside bend on his elbow as she smiled at him. She gave him a wink. “My heart rate would be going that fast too if I was younger.”

Nico felt his face burn up and took a deep breath. He gave a quiet laugh as she removed the stethoscope and readied the blood pressure cuff above his elbow. Nico could feel his heart settling back into a normal pace, just as she began the puff up the cuff and place the stethoscope back into the crook of his arm. Will came back around as Sheryl was finishing pricking Nico’s finger for his hemoglobin check. She passed the test strip over to Will.

"Okay, sweetie, go ahead and lay back against the pillow. You’re in good hands. This kid is like the god of placing a needle in a vein." She winked again and shuffled back to her table.

Will followed her with his eyes and quirked an eyebrow at Nico. Nico shrugged. Will sat on the stool as he grabbed a blue latex strip. He tied it around Nico’s upper arm tightly and began opening the plastic for the new needle.

"So," Nico started as Will swabbed cold rubbing alcohol across his arm. "How are you already certified for this?"

"I got my phlebotomy certification from the Red Cross after I graduated high school." Will answered as he lined the needle parallel to Nico’s arm. Nico felt a small prick and the needle settled into his skin and hit the vein. Will quickly taped the needle down, attached the IV and loosened the tourniquet. Dark red blood flow into the clear tubing and trailed down under the cot and into the bag. "Are you going to be okay? You’re not going to faint on me or anything, are you?

 Nico scowled. “I’m fine.”

“I have to finish up those three over there,” Will said, pointing to the other occupied cots. Nico watched him go over and begin to take out IVs and apply the bandages. Sheryl was boxing up the clipboards and forms and collapsing the table. A few other volunteers were starting to pick up other supplies, cleaning up stations, removing unused cots. The students that Will finished bandaging walked over to the refreshments and joined the other students that were finishing up their snacks. Will made his way back over to Nico. He stretched and pulled off his red smock, revealing a pink t-shirt underneath. He tucked the smock into his waistband.

”Looks like it’s just you and me now.”

“Did that shirt come like that?” Nico teased. Will’s face turned the same shade as the shirt.

“I may have missed a t-shirt for my white load and it ended up in my scrub load. Figured might as well pair the shirt with the offending scrubs.”

Nico snorted.

“Hey, don’t laugh at me. I think I’m doing just fine with my laundry other than this one oops.”

“Well, pink looks well on you so you’re lucky.”

Nico’s eyes went wide at the realization that he said it out loud. Will’s eye lit up, a wide grin crossed his face. He looked down at his hands as his blush deepened into a red tone. “So, uh, what made you want to donate blood?”

Nico ran a hand through his hair. “Actually, I didn’t come here meaning to. Sheryl was just really persuasive.”

“So, why’d you come here?”

“To see you,” Nico blurted. He scolded himself again. “I mean, you said to come by your place for a Mythomagic rematch and I saw the flyer on your door.”

“Oh, yeah?” Will grinned, leaning forward on the swivel stool. “So you came all the way to the student center, just to talk to me.”

Nico licked his lips. “Yeah, is that weird?”

"No, you could have left a note though. Or you could have texted me." Will checked the bag under the cot. "You’re almost done."

"I don’t have your number," Nico replied confused.

"Oh, that’s right you ran off before we could exchange numbers."

Nico looked at him, confused by his tone. Will seemed to be teasing him, but there also seemed to be a hint of annoyance or anger in his words. He offered Nico a grin and that softened his words. Will grabbed a marker from his cargo pocket and reached across for Nico’s other arm. He quickly scribbled a string of ten numbers on the inside of Nico’s arm.

“Don’t lose it.” Nico relaxed not realizing he had tensed up. Sheryl came up to them with a cup of juice and a cookie. She set it on the tray next to Nico’s cot.

"This is all that’s left of the refreshments. Make sure you eat and drink more when you get home. You’ll need to raise your blood sugar."

"I’ll make sure he does, Sheryl. Thanks." Will answered.

Will pressed gauze to Nico’s arm and slid the needle out. “Hold that.” Nico pressed a finger to the folded up gauze, brushing Will’s fingers in the process. Will smiled and grabbed some ace bandage. Nico scowled at the color.

"Now that’s just cruel. You don’t have any other color?"

Will sniggered to himself as he wrapped the bandage over Nico’s gauze. “Come on, I think you look great in pink.”

Will handed the bag of Nico’s blood to Sheryl. “Okay, you two. Get out of here. You’ve been here all day, Will. We can take care of the rest.”

He nodded to her. He bent down and grabbed Nico’s bag. He set the strap over his head and let Nico readjust it as he sat up. Nico reached over for his cup of juice and cookie. His head felt lopsided and the room spun. Will steadied his arm and helped him to his feet. Nico took a drink from his cup as Will led him out of the student center. Together they walked to the cafeteria. 


End file.
